Founded in Seattle WA in 2005,
every month usually on 2nd Tuesdays
@ Fremont Abbey Arts Center.

All ages, all incomes.

The Round in Seattle has been performed at large festivals such as Bumbershoot, Zootunes Woodland Park, and venues like The Triple Door, Neumos, Rodstal Lane Farm, and our home venue Fremont Abbey Arts Center.

Celebrate 100 consecutive months of The Round by joining our four-part bonanza: Bumbershoot, Out to Lunch Downtown, Golden Gardens, and the Abbey itself!

SEATTLE, WA | What better way to close out the high-summer season than with a slew of multi-arts celebrations all across Seattle? That’s exactly what we have up our sleeves for the first two weeks of September. Join us to celebrate 100 consecutive monthly events with The Round at Bumbershoot (9/1), Out to Lunch Downtown (9/6), Fremont Abbey (9/10), and Golden Gardens Bathhouse (9/12 – sponsored by Whole Foods).

We will kick off the festivities at Bumbershoot, featuring Shelby Earl, Mary Lambert, and Le Wrens on the Plaza Stage at 1:45-3:00pm onSunday, September 1st. Shelby has been a longtime member of The Round community and a strong female voice in the Seattle folk scene. Mary Lambert has made a name for herself as a poet, civil rights activist, and powerful songwriter (as featured on Macklemore’s Same Love). Le Wrens, fronted by Lizzie Gunderson, draws on the spirit of a whole sibling set with folk running through their veins.

The Out to Lunch Concert downtown will feature Pepper Proud and Hannalee at noon on September 6th at the 5th Avenue Plaza. These two top-notch folk acts will be collaborating in the spirit of the Round for an afternoon of excellence.

Fremont Abbey will host an evening of music and arts at the Abbey itself at 8:00pm on September 10th. The show will be intimate and jubilous, featuring secret guests from many past Rounds. Lastly, our culminating event will take to the beach at Golden Gardens on September 12th. A concert will be hosted in the Bathhouse at 7-9pm, and afterward the community will be free to connect around bonfires. Bring your picnic early and enjoy the close out summer beach party!

LOOKING FORWARD:

“What is The Round? A show, a night, a space, an energy, a community, one face of the collaborative spirit. As The Round approaches its 100th show, I reflect on the role it holds within our creative community, and in Seattle at large. As a multi-arts event, The Round embodies collaboration. Each show invites artists and audiences into a creative space, and through the painting, the poetry, and the music, minds and hearts are opened, unfolded, and mixed as was never done and will never happen quite like it again. The next Round will be a new creation.

And The Round spills out into the Seattle scene itself. It has hosted hundreds of artists, an estimated 600+ between its 100 shows. All these artists have a common thread, unlike any other thread in the city – “Oh you played The Round in ‘09?” – and they are connected through that shared experience, not to mention the literal contacts gained by merging “smaller” acts with “larger,” newer artists with older, an attempt to create ties wherever possible. When I played The Round as a newcomer last August, Kris Orlowski immediately became like an older brother to me. The Round encourages connectivity in all who pass through its doors.

And we need not be reminded of the Fremont Abbey itself—a sanctuary for Seattle’s monks and nuns; for our city’s prophetic hands, feet, and voices; for our artists. Of course, our lovely city has showered its artists with many sanctuaries. I hope that The Round will continue to be one home among many, a reliable space, energy, and community for me, for the arts – for artists – to make new things.” — Gabe Much, Vocalist and Guitarist of The Cellar Door

Various humanitarian non-profits are also featured throughout the year to raise volunteers & awareness. Groups like Water 1st, Fremont Abbey’s youth programs, First Place Schools, New Beginnings women & children shelter, YMCA Youth Programs, Agros Intl, Teen Feed, NFFTY Youth Film Festival, Aurora Commons, Boundless Arts Collective, Treehouse for Kids, and Boys & Girls Club have been supported.

Special thanks to the Seattle Poetry Slam & Youth Speaks Seattle for training up such great poets and letting us borrow them!
NOTE: For Booking or Contact info, please scroll to the bottom of this page. We cannot take booking requests via Facebook or any other site. Thanks for understanding!

History:

Founded in 2005 by arts curator Nathan Marion, The Round started in Seattle at various venues such as Golden Gardens Bathhouse, Q Cafe, Yesler Community Center, and The Living Room tea house. It has been held at least every single month, and by Round #6 had landed at our home venue, Fremont Abbey Arts Center. Though we still jump to fun places like The Triple Door, Bumbershoot, Neumos, Rodstol Lane Farm, and other outdoor venues… the Abbey is definitely The Round’s home.

The Seattle Round has developed into an amazing volunteer-powered arts experience and it’s definitely not your normal concert. Musicians are only allowed to play once a year, so it keeps the lineups fresh!

The event has been or is active in other cities such as Portland OR, Tacoma WA, Austin TX, Anacortes WA, Vashon Island WA, and Lebanon PA.

It’s best to stop by and see a show first if you’re in town. That way you can see how it all works and understand the concept to see if it fits your interests and style. This is not just an opportunity to make money or fans, the value of playing The Round is more about the collaboration experience, meeting new people, and supporting the artistic community.

Musicians – Unlike ongoing bar shows, this event is carefully curated to have a good mix onstage. While it’s fairly rare to have opening slots available for submissions, you’re welcome to email us but please don’t expect a response to every email (Sorry, we can’t keep up!). That said, you can start by thinking of a really great lineup of you and 1 or 2 other singers you know (including at least one female lead singer). Then make sure the lineup will draw 100+ people and fits the style of the event (ie. all singers are interested in the concept, or at least might be). Be sure tos send all your typical booking info, link to music (Bandcamp or similar preferred), video, potential draw, past shows with #’s in Seattle, etc. and we’ll check it out as soon as we can. We often have lots of tentatives booked months in advance, but sometimes a spot will open up. Preference is given to developing artists (especially 19 and under).

Poets – Perform at Seattle Poetry Slam or Youthspeaks and send us a video of your best poem. If on tour, just email us a video link.

Painters – Send us a link to your portfolio with a note about which paintings or styles you could possibly do live in 2 hours or so. Acrylics/no smell only and must be quiet methods. Approx 3-4′ canvas or board on an easel (standing so audience can see). Let us know if you have a fanbase too and are able to promote the show and invite people.

EMAIL: booking (at) fremontabbey.org
With subject line “ROUNDBOOKING” so we can find it easily.